Migration Elation

Yukna is talking about the quiet that has recently come over her South Florida life. Gone are the snowbirds. Gone are the tourists. Gone are the lines at the deli counter, at her post office and the bank.

"There are no more lines," says Yukna, of Fort Lauderdale. "It's wonderful. But I warn you again, don't spread the word."

We asked readers to call us with the telltale signs that "the season," as we call it in South Florida, is over. Here it is June 1, and the end of the season is particularly evident for those of us who live near a beach, the Intracoastal or any other body of water. There are no numbers on snowbirds in Florida, but a 1998 study by the Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research suggested there could be as many as 971,000 seasonal visitors in the state during the January peak, with about 35 percent of them in South Florida.

And while we love what tourism and half-timers do for our economy, lots of folks like even more what happens when the winter crush turns to summer calm.

One woman, who preferred to remain anonymous, joked that she could discontinue her Valium prescription now that the snowbirds have returned North. For others, the difference is subtler.

"I can always tell the snowbirds have flown because suddenly it gets a lot easier to find that title you're looking for on the new release shelf at the library," says Joan Durbin of Coconut Creek, who was recently able to scoop up the latest offering from Florida writer Alison Lurie.

"I live in a high-rise building on the ocean," says Heather Malkoff from high above Galt Ocean Mile in Fort Lauderdale. "And I'm able to get up to the 20th floor without the elevator having to stop anywhere in between."

Now that it's June, Malkoff says she and husband Bob feel like they have the building to themselves. Only two apartments on her floor are occupied. The laundry room is empty. And the beach? "It's like having a private beach," she says. "It's wonderful."

It all starts to happen with Easter and Passover. Bob Watson of Fort Lauderdale uses visual clues. There are fewer out-of-state and Quebec plates and fewer people dressed, as he says, like tourists.

"No ladies in gold, fruit-laden sandals. No deerskin shoes, polyester slacks and white vinyl belts," says Watson, 60. "And all the turn signals are off in the cars."

Caroline Brodersen of Delray Beach notices the turn of season most at the grocery store. "Shopping is once more a pleasure," says Brodersen. "The snowbirds get in the middle of the aisles. They're holding their little reunions. `When did you get down?' This is not a high school reunion at a gym."

Shopping-wise, Eileen Kunmann of Boca Raton says the biggest difference is that the sales force seems less crazed.

"I feel that all of the sales people in the mall and other stores and restaurants are much friendlier," says Kunmann. "Usually people are on vacation. They're not on a time schedule and it just seems that they never realize that people have breaks in jobs or appointments. I think the sales people react to that."

Rose Levenkron of Fort Lauderdale makes sure to make all of her medical and dental appointments out of season, after what she calls "the exodus."

"I try to take that pressure off myself. I really plan the year for when they leave. Any major repairs I have to do, I wait until they're gone," says Levenkron.

Barbara and Carl Rish of Coral Springs have one less member of the household since the end of season, Mother's Day weekend in their case. For the past three years, their daughter from Chicago has come to Florida for Thanksgiving and brought her 6-year-old beagle named Yofie.

Yofie stays with his grandparents until Mother's Day. "It actually started a couple of years ago when she thought she was going to have to make an interim move into an apartment that didn't take dogs," says Barbara Rish, an elementary school teacher.

Rish says her daughter gets a break from having to walk her dog in Chicago's snow and ice. But the arrangement brings new meaning to empty-nesters.

"We do miss him. It's like we have withdrawal symptoms. You rush home from work because the dog's been home for hours. You bring leftovers home from restaurants. It's a period of adjustment when he first arrives and when he first leaves."

Several callers pointed to the automobile carriers as a sure sign of the end of season. Ann Griefer, of Boynton Beach, says they're a kind of beacon.

"When I lived up north the first sign that harsh winters were over was the first robin that landed on the lawn," she says. "For me, the first robins down South are the transport carriers taking the tourists' cars back to their homes. Whenever I see the arrival of the carriers, I know that peace and quiet are soon to reign in South Florida."

Perhaps the best sign that season is over comes from a snowbird who hasn't yet been able to head back to New York because of a medical problem. She didn't want her name in the paper because her condo will soon be empty.

"Telltale sign that the snowbirds are home is when the weather starts getting hot and they're smart enough to head north."

Touche!

John Tanasychuk can be reached at jtanasychuk@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4632.